WUHAN, China - Wuhan, the capital city of Hubei province and the epicentre of the novel coronavirus outbreak on Wednesday lifted a 76-day lockdown that it had imposed to halt the spread of the virus, signalling the normal resumption of life for the city of 11 million people while the world still tackles the pandemic.

Mostly everyone in the city including delivery men, office employees, doctors, and nurses were trapped ever since the lockdown came into effect. The provincial authorities have also lifted the temporary hold it had imposed on the local transport and inter-province transport, bringing back the crowds on the streets of Wuhan.

Wuhan entered a lockdown in late January, which was then seen by many as a draconian move but since then lockdowns have proved as a measure to curb the spread of COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus.

Provincial authorities in Hubei had lifted the lockdown for the province except for Wuhan on March 25 in an attempt to bring normalcy to the worst-affected province in mainland China.

People in Hubei were given colour-coded QR codes, which indicates their health status. People with green QR codes indicating good health were let out of their homes.

The easing of restrictions will now be extended to Wuhan, where the coronavirus first emerged in December, and residents with a green QR code will be able to leave the city and the province.

About 55,000 people are estimated will be leaving Wuhan by train on Wednesday, most of whom are heading to the Pearl River Delta, home to many of China's warehouses. The first train was scheduled to go to Nanning, South China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region at 7:06 am, according to the local railway authority. (ANI/Big News Network)